On Thursday I had the privilege of giving a presentation on intellectual property law along with my friend, Michael Gu, to some of the small business owners at Boston SCORE. We covered patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Here’s a quick recap of some of the main takeaways.

Trademarks

Use it or Lose it

Trademark rights arise from use, whether your mark is registered or not. If you’re using your trademark on a "common law" basis (using it without registering it), your rights cease when your use ends. Even if you have a registered trademark, your registration will be cancelled if you fail to show proof of continued during your renewal period.

U.S. Registration is a Legal Proceeding – Get Assistance

Applying for a federal trademark registration is a process involving substantive legal analysis and adherence to strict deadlines. It isn’t as straightforward as applying for a business certificate or filing to create a new entity. For example, responding to an examining attorney’s refusal to register a trademark requires legal argumentation similar to that of a motion in litigation. To that end, it’s strongly recommended that you hire an attorney. Even the USPTO recommends retaining a lawyer. *cough*

Use your Mark Properly

You threaten your trademark rights when you don’t use your mark properly. Some tips for proper use include

Using the trademark consistently

Using the trademark as an adjective, not a noun or a verb

Using trademark notices (TM/SM if it isn’t registered, ® if it is)

Copyrights

Patents

Patentable Subject Matter

“Anything under the sun that is made by man” may be patentable. However, patents don’t protect abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena. Moreover, the invention must be useful, novel, and non-obvious.

Rights Granted

Patents grant the exclusive right to exclude others from making and using your patented invention. The right mustbe affirmatively asserted, it isn’t automatic. The right is also limited in geographic scope: a U.S. patent cannot be enforced outside of the U.S.

Visit www.uspto.gov/patent or contact a licensed patent agent or patent attorney for more information.

Trade Secrets

What is a Trade Secret?

A trade secret is information that (1) derives independent economic value from its not being generally know and not being readily ascertainable by other persons; and (2) is subject of reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

The Law Varies from State to State

While many states have adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act in some form, a number of states, including Massachusetts, have not. Some protect trade secrets by separate statute, and others protect them under common law.

Closing Thoughts

This was another fun presentation with a very active audience. My Kevin James joke bombed – I guess even I can’t make Paul Blart funny, but you can’t win ‘em all. Thanks again to Boston SCOREfor letting us give the presentation, and thanks to Harvard Ed Portal for letting us use their cool location.

As always, if you have any questions about copyright or trademark, don’t hesitate to contact me!

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